Nice Robe
by WhatsABriard
Summary: In which I flippantly remarked that having Jean appear in Lucien's shirt was great, but having him end up in her ugly robe would be better. First appeared unedited as an anon fic for AndAllThatMishigas.


She isn't entirely sure how it happened, a phenomenon she was becoming alarmingly familiar with in recent months.

She had gone to the kitchen to put the kettle on, shuffling about in an early morning haze. Usually an early riser, she was finding herself muddled and muzzy when she first woke, unwilling to leave the warmth of her bed.

She stood at the open door of the fridge, contemplating bacon or sausage, still rather lost in her morning fog when she heard Lucien.

Scratching absentmindedly at his bare chest, he squinted at her from the doorway. His hair was sleep disheveled and he blinked, looking somewhat confused and deliciously rumpled.

She swallowed hard and wondered when, if ever, the sight of him wouldn't set her blood to a low simmer.

She wondered when, if ever, she wouldn't ache to touch him.

She wondered when, if ever, she would remember that the kitchen _was not the place for this_.

She wondered if she would ever care.

He grinned at her.

She closed the fridge.

He nearly tripped out of his sleep pants, kicking them away. Her beloved robe, ratty and faded, that he teased her about constantly, dropped at their feet.

* * *

Her heart thundered in her chest and she was still trying to gather her wits and breath when the phone rang. Lucien was draped over her, panting blooms of head across her neck, his fingers tapping lightly against her spine.. With weak limbs she pushed at his shoulder.

"Letitring," He mumbled against her skin and she nudged at him again, the table an uncomfortable with his weight pressing on her.

"It could be a patient," She pushed again and with a sigh he stepped away and towards the phone.

"LUCIEN," She hissed, scandalized, and he froze. "You can't answer the phone _naked_."

He opened his mouth to argue with her, the damn jangling of the phone punctuating the silence. Thinking better of it, he merely gave her a wicked little smile and scooped up her robe. He crossed the kitchen in two steps, sliding his arms into it. The sleeves were inches too short and it barely closed around his middle but he tied it anyway. He gave a jaunty little twirl before he reached for the handset.

Jean smothered her laugh with the heel of her hand. Her husband was… there were so many words to describe him. But this particular morning he was incorrigible.

Her laughter that ended with a squeak of dismay at the creak of the front door. Hopping off the table she searched frantically for her nightdress but it was nowhere to be found. She told Lucien to be careful when he snatched it away from her body and sent it sailing. But when his lips found her skin, she hadn't cared anymore. Matthew's distinct gait drew closer.

"No, I'm here, Alice." Lucien was answering vaguely while looking between the hallway and his panicked wife, circling like a headless chicken around the kitchen table. Heat flamed her skin when she realized there was no hope of cover. She snatched a dish towel off the bar and disappeared around the corner just as Matthew stepped into the room

With her arms crossed over herself, draping the tiny towel around her ineffectively, Jean slunk against the wall with her palm over her mouth. She wasn't sure which emotion would win in the end; utter mortification or utter hysteria.

Lucien finished up the call with a lame excuse and it was a few seconds before Matthew's voice followed.

"Nice robe." It was hysteria, then, that won the moment and Jean's whole body trembled.

"Thank you, it's new."

It was a choking sob of laughter that finally broke free and Jean leaned heavily on the wall behind her. Once the adrenaline filtered out of her system, she would be suitably mortified and take Lucien to task for his careless behavior. He would remind her that she had not protested very much. His golden head knelt before her in supplication had been too distracting.

For the moment, however, she could only laugh, tears streaming down her cheeks, unable to be silent. From the next room, Lucien's giggles matched hers.

"Bloody hell." Matthew barked and slammed back to his room.

Dinner _was_ awkward for a few weeks after that.


End file.
